Trial by Fire
by tieukhanh
Summary: Marco is having insomnia, yet he cannot tell his husband about it, because said guy is the reason for his distress and joy.


Recently, Marco hasn't have a great night's sleep. Insomnia is his regular companion and anxiety becomes a loyal friend. He tries several ways, warm scent in the bathtub, drinking milk before bedtime and doing exercises twice a day, yet they all result in vain. The good memories he forces himself to think about turns bitter at the end. In the eight hours he's been in bed he wakes up seven times, with every disturbance is the same nightmare, leaving him paralyzing and chill to the bones.

Once again, unable to sleep, his eyes focus on the silhouette of the lamp light, avoiding the clock right opposite his bed. His mind whirls violently in a stupid loop.

The only thing that stabilizes his heart's rate is the warmth radiates from his husband, who's sleeping peacefully in his embrace. The young man makes a content sound as he snuggles in Marco's body. The simple gesture lifts heaviness away from his stomach, and he responses by tightening his hold as if physical contact isn't enough.

Marco yearns for night like this, with his husband safe and sound by his side. The world seems to melt away as he gently brushes a strand of raven hair and caresses the constellation of freckles.

He hasn't told the young man about his condition, because said guy is the reason for this torture.

Ace's been working overtime lately, eating out and staying at his colleagues' places. Last week, he only had dinner at home once. A half to be exact, because he was summoned before Marco could dish up the dessert. They stop going to the park on the weekends, and Ace never leaves his phone out of sight, even when he's in the shower. There're times when a text arrives very late in the night, or very early in the morning, Ace simply grabs his coat and dashes out of the house without hesitation.

Marco knows he shouldn't makes a ruckus with Ace about his work life, yet he's afraid he can suppress the worrisome in his heart any longer.

Brrrr-

Ace shifts and arches his eyebrows while Marco's heart sinks to the bottom. Pain seizes his chest as the freckled man reaches for his phone. Ace's silvery eyes are cloudy as first, but they sharpen right after he finishes the text. He lets out a curse and sits upright, frees himself from Marco's embrace. Marco grips the blanket and pretends like he's still asleep, but he doubts he can fool Ace. The young man's always been the more perceptive one between the two of them. And he's right. Ace stops midway from getting out of the bed and lay a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"I love you," his husband kisses his temple and whispers to his ear, "Thank you for loving me."

Then he grabs the key and walks out of their room.

Marco opens his eyes and bites his lips as Ace's shadow disappears under the door. He lies still in the darkness and lets out a heavy breath when the sound of motor's engine fading away. The blonde man glances at the digital clock, only a half an hour passes midnight, the number glowing a gloomy dim green. He tries counting the sheep, but soon the fluffy creatures keep telling him about what could go wrong with his husband. Sick feeling returns to his gut; he forces himself to think about the idea he plans for his new book, but it doesn't last long either.

Marco's mind flickers to the drawer where he still has the sleeping pills. The little white tablets sound like a good idea right now, but he doesn't want them. He promised Ace he'd never rely on chemicals again, and he cannot allow himself to sleep like a rock, not when he has someone else to worry about.

The long minutes drag into even longer hours, color slowly seeps back into the wall and the warmth fades away from the other bedside. Marco sighs wearily and reaches for the kitchen, maybe he should make a sandwich in case Ace's hungry when he returns.

He doesn't expect to see a small figure toddling out of the opposite room.

"Annie?" Marco rushes to his daughter, "Something wrong?"

Ann tilted her head up and rubs her eyes. She blinks a few times before answering Marco.

"Papa?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Wee-wee," his daughter says.

"Oh," Marco lets out a relieved sigh, "Want me to take you to the bathroom?"

Ann nods. The blonde man gives out his hand and his daughter grabs it, her hand's so small in comparison to his. Marco can't help but wonder about the future where she'll be a grown-up woman and no longer fits in the crook of his arm. Ann used to be so small, depended completely on him and Ace, but now she's been sleeping on her own for six months. Though Ann's a fire spawn just like his husband, Marco still worries she may hurt herself without his notice.  
Maybe he'd tuck her to bed first before making the sandwich.

"Better sweetie?" Marco asks when his daughter gets out.

"Yes, Papa," the girl nods and pulls his shirt, "Want to sleep wit' you and Daddy."

The reminder of Ace causes a sting in Marco's heart. He kneels down and caresses her hair.

"I'm afraid Daddy's busy right now."

"Daddy's working again?"

"Yes, dear. He's working, and I'm afraid he won't be back soon," he gave her a reassurance smile, "Back to bed, shall we? I'll read 'The Adventure of the Phoenix' for you."

Ann pouts and clenches her fist, a gesture she inherited from Ace. His husband always does that when he's thinking very hard. Marco waits patiently, then his daughter looks at him in the eyes, determination covers her blue irises.

"Daddy must be tired when he's back. I want to make Daddy a sandwic'."

Joy fills Marco's heart, and the disturbance of insomnia grows faint.

"Alright, sandwich first," Marco chuckles, "then back to bed."

When they passes the living room, Stefan, who's been sleeping in his bed by the sofa, sits up and waggles his tail. The energetic dog follows them to the kitchen and sniffs Ann to say hi. Kotatsu simply waves his tail one time to announce his presence. The old cat doesn't leave the windowsill, where he sits and waits for Ace every time the young man working late.

Marco puts his daughter on her chair and gets to the fridge, then he takes the ingredients out and lays them on the table. Ann looks at the salad and cheeses slices excitingly and begins placing the mayo on the bread.

Unbeknown to Marco, when he turns around to cut the tomatoes, Kotatsu gets off the windowsill and comes to the table. Ann waves at the cat, and Kotatsu replies with a soft meow. Stefan bolts toward his companion and earns a sharp hiss. Ann snickers as Kotatsu jumps upward and lands on the table; his foot accidentally steps on the controller and turns on the TV.

"Get off, Kotatsu," Marco groans and picks up the cat, "You're not compete food with Ace again aren't you?"

The cat doesn't struggle, he's busy looking at the ongoing television program.

"Papa," Ann pointed at the television. "Daddy!"

 _This is Isuka Nailing with Emergency News. Two hours ago, a wildfire was detected in Crescent Mont, only 90 kilometers away from both Yukiryu Town. Yukiryu and Sphinx Fire Department are mobilized to keep the fire at bay._

Marco clenches his fist as what he sees on the screen, raging inferno lights up the night sky and devours everything on its path. The firefighters, chainsaws and axes on their hands, slow the propagation by digging a ditch line and clearing out the lower canopies. A helicopter adds force by dropping retardant, yet fire still coming right after the men; one team standing so close a guy can touch the fire if he bends his body forward and stretches his arm.

Marco's mind suddenly wanders back to a fateful night when he was seven, he woke to heat, the sound of fire and his own choking. He could see the flame from his own bedroom door and his parents were nowhere in sight. A firefighter broke in from the window and dragged him out from the collapsing house, then later adopted Marco as his son.

 _Fire Chief Beckman of Yukiryu Fire Department says they currently got the fire under control, and further inspection will be conducted to make sure nothing can ignite the fire again._

The camera zooms in the lifeless sticks of charcoal that once was green canopies. The firemen gathered the bushes and set them on fire. The resultant fires are meet the main fire front, both fires merge and sway in the dance without rhythm.

And there is Ace, his husband, standing next to his teammates as they watch the fire burn out and choke to death. The young man is wearing a mask that covers most of his face, but Marco can always identify the love of his life just by looking at his back.

"Daddy?" Ann calls again, uncertainty in her voice.

"Yeah, it's Daddy."

Once a New Year's Eve party at Pops' station, his old man introduced him the new rookie, transferred from South Blue, young and not much experience, but is very welcomed by his colleagues.

"Meet your new brother Marco," the old man laughed joyously and left them in silent awkward, but the guy's cheerful nature soon lightened the mood. Something sparked between them that night. In less than a year, Marco already wanted Ace to become his spouse, but it took the blonde man another three years gaining enough courage for a proper proposal.

Unlike his father and his partner, Marco isn't a brave man; he's afraid that someone else he loves would lost themselves to the fire. Ace, on the contrary, is lionhearted just like Pops, the type of man who'd jump in the front line without hesitation. Marco falls in love with that bravado, yet the same time scares that Ace's courage will lead him to his demise.

 _New World is facing its worst fire season ever. In the last five months, eleven wildfires had been reported throughout the region._

Ace always says he loves Marco, and now Ann also, before he leaves, and thanks Marco for loving him. It tears him apart seeing his love goes on duty and his heart only calms when the young man returns safe and sound.

Marco is a selfish man, he wants all of Ace for himself, yet one part of his husband is the courage to save anyone in need. He doesn't want Ace to continue his job, not when any moment Ace says goodbye can be their last moment together. But maybe somewhere out there is a kid that need to be saved, like him was saved by Pops once upon a time.

And he loves Ace too much to stop Ace from doing what the young man wants.

Marco places his finger on his necklace, a blue bird charm that Ace nervously gave him after their third date. Ann was too young to understand the meaning of Ace's job and the danger he faces daily, and Marco hopes he never has to explain to his daughter why her father suddenly doesn't come back anymore. It'll be him who break down first.

"What did you wish for? Oh wait, don't tell me, your wish won't come true," Ace asked when they celebrated their three-year anniversary.

Marco didn't mind reveal his wish actually, he only wished for one thing since he was ten, for his family to be safe. The brothers who follows Pops' path, and now Ace and Ann and the small house they've build over the year.

 _So far none of the wildfires led to a catastrophic results. The fire departments are giving their best effort, but they ask for New World residents to train themselves to respond more quickly to warnings and make preparations to shelter in preparation._

"Papa?" Ann tugs his sleeves. She has his eyes, blue and clear like a morning sky, but she inherited Ace's raven hair and his fairy freckles.

"Yes, dear?" Marco forces himself to smile, he can't be weak in front of his daughter.

"Daddy'll be back. Because he says he loves me and Papa."

Marco feels his tears are about to fall. The blonde man puts his hand on his mouth and let out a breath to calm himself, then he tucks Ann up and pampers her back.

"Yes, Annie. He'll be back."

"…Want to wait for him with Papa."

"Of course. Let's wait for him together."

That night, Marco receives a text from Ace saying he won't be back until next week.

.

Marco groans at the noise of water running, he remembers checking the sink carefully before going to sleep. Then consciousness kicks in, his eyes snaps open as he sits upward. Stefan licks his face to say good afternoon, but Marco's in no mood to play with his dog. The water sound is coming from the bathroom. He looks at the table and finds a key there, a key that connects to a weird pineapple keychain and doesn't belong to his.

He hears the faucet being turned off, then the door swings open. Standing right outside the bathroom is the love of his life, half-naked like he always does when they're alone. The water drips down his hair softly and makes it way to the obviously perfect abs. Noticing his look, the freckled young man beams a brilliant smile.

"Oh, you're awake. How's your dream?"

"It comes true."

Marco whispers, his heartbeat accelerates. He stands straight up yet his legs decide they should betray him at this very moment. He stumbles and almost falls to the ground if it isn't for his husband holding his waist in time.

"What did I tell you about sleeping on the sofa? It strains your muscles. Get to bed for a proper sleep." Ace grumbles, but his eyes are soft and caring. He helps Marco sit down and does some massage to his legs.

"The bed doesn't have you." Marco murmurs as he fixes the messy locks of hair on Ace's forehead. The young man turns tomato red.

"Cheesy old man."

"You should know that when you said yes."

"…You have bags under your eyes," the freckled man says softly, one hand holds his cheek in place and caress under his eyes, the other hand slides down the side of his neck, "and your shoulder's stiff."

Even though Ace didn't say it out loud, Marco knows his husband is mad at him for lacking his health. He leans in the touch, the warmth he's been missing for so long lifts the tension off his back.

"So do you." Marco lays a soft kiss on the freckles cheek.

"I'm home."

"Welcome home."

Marco finds his heart at peace once again. Time seems to freezes and becomes eternity when they holding hands and lean against each other.

"Well, as much as I want to spend time with my dear husband, I haven't sleep for 26 hours," Ace snickers, "Do you mind being my pillow?"

Ace dozes off at the moment his back hits the bed. Marco isn't sleepy, but he doesn't mind another nap right now. He wraps his arms around Ace's waist and closes his eyes. His heart's still beating fast, but in a joyful rhythm. The sweet aroma of shampoo lingers in the air like a gentle greeting to a pleasant reverie.

Suddenly Marco remembers one important thing. He reaches for his phone and set the alarm. His daughter will be happy to see who pick her up today.


End file.
